Country: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan
Closing date: 19 Mar 2017
1.0 Background and introduction
Actionaid is seeking the services of a consultant to develop a policy brief analysing different regional economic policies and identifying the scope for incorporation of women’s Unpaid Care Work (UCW) and women’s economic empowerment (WEE). The policy brief will be used primarily in advocacy activities with the SAARC, UN agencies and donors. This policy brief is being produced as part of ActionAid’s POWER project (Promoting Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment and Rights), funded by the Dutch Government under the Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women (FLOW).
The policy brief should explicitly link UCW and WEE with Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The theoretical foundations of this comprehensive approach to women’s rights will be informed by ActionAid’s new global report: Double Jeopardy: Violence against women and economic inequality. How they work together, and what can be done about it.
2.0 Rationale
Women’s empowerment and development is premised on women’s ability to enjoy their rights in terms of access to resources, education, health, information, liberty, dignity and political participation, as well as fundamental freedoms of association and assembly. Women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work limits their ability to enjoy most of these rights and freedoms. Economic/rural development and agricultural policy(ies) make certain assumptions about how economic empowerment happens (micro credit, entrepreneurship, while ignoring the basic issue of women’s care burden. This is related to failing public policy including macro-economic decisions privatization, tax loopholes that increase time poverty and block women’s access to quality, affordable public services. Despite a number of commitments made internationally, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) and more recently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), women continue to be underrepresented in parliament, local authorities and regional bodies suffer discriminatory practices and attitudes towards accessing resources and experience gender based violence in various forms. In particular the policy brief will place unpaid care work at the center of analysis on rural women’s economic empowerment advocacy work and review existing policies, their gaps and opportunities for incorporation of unpaid care work into regional policies and practice. The brief will highlight any opportunities for future engagements and incorporation on unpaid care work in economic empowerment policy.
3.0 Scope of deliverables for the consultant:
To identify and review regional policies on rural women’s economic empowerment using Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, Violence against Women and Unpaid Care Work thematic frameworks.
The analysis will include discussion and analysis on:
Assumptions of the economic models and how economic empowerment, particularly in terms of agriculture and rural development in South Asia ignores women’s care burden.
Failing public policy including increasing privatization, tax loopholes that increase time poverty and block women’s access to quality and affordable public services.
The review of policies will also consider the different dimensions of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), in particular their engagement in production, resources, income, leadership and time use.
An analysis of a holistic approach to empowerment which also includes linkages of unpaid care work and women’s ability to enjoy freedom from all forms of gender based violence.
Declarations and commitments for example
Targets and recommendations around the key advocacy issues for future work on unpaid care work and women’s economic empowerment
Specific examples of implementation from the national frameworks of Pakistan and Bangladesh, India and Nepal and any other significant country in South Asia
Develop a strong feminist analysis of unpaid care work and rural women’s economic empowerment in regional policy frameworks
Make recommendations on addressing regional policy gaps in incorporating unpaid care work
Ensure an intersectional feminist analysis is applied with particular focus on women and: disability; ethnicity; class; sexual orientation – in relation to UCW, WEE and VAWG.
To recommend to AA and its partners key regional policies where opportunities for future engagement exist at the SAARC, Chamber of Commerce, UNESCAP, IFAD, FAO, UN Women, UN agencies and others as relevant.
In developing the policy brief, the consultant shall:
Include a short review of analysis of the current policy and legal framework relating to unpaid care work, women’s economic empowerment and VAWG in South Asia including statistics from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal and existing analysis and information provided by the POWER project.
Review the challenges women face with respect to women’s economic empowerment, unpaid care work and violence against women with specific focus on rural women specifically:
Critically define women’s time poverty in rural contexts due to unequal share of unpaid care work
Review regional policy frameworks and commitments on women’s economic empowerment, agriculture, violence against women and unpaid care work
Review any other regional institutional factors / forums facilitating or constraining rural women’s economic empowerment
Discuss rural women’s lack of access to economic and productive resources in particular access to land and water resources and how this contributes to the care burden for women
Violence against women and its impact on rural women’s economic empowerment and their participation in decision making – including any links with unpaid care work.
Ensure that unpaid care work and rural women’s empowerment are discussed from a human rights perspective rather than instrumentalist perspective i.e merely being pursued because they contribute to economic progress or productivity not as fundamental human rights to which women are entitled to.
Review rural women’s participation in decision making in the context of unpaid care work, VAW and the intersections with women’s economic empowerment. There should be particular emphasis on access and control of resources in the home and the way in which that effects VAW in rural communities.
4.0 Expected outcomes of the policy brief
The policy brief will be used in advocacy work
To strengthen the consideration of unpaid care work and rural women’s economic empowerment in key policy discussions and decisions made during the SAARC UNESCAP, IFAD meeting from 2017and beyond.
To provide a strong evidence base for advocacy engagements on women’s economic empowerment in South Asia
To highlight to policy makers the urgency to address rural women’s participation in decision making in the context of unpaid care work
To highlight recommendations to SAARC, FAO, IFAD, UNESCAP to address the key issues on women’s rights in particular their economic empowerment and participation in decision making
5.0 Expected methodology
The consultant will undertake a desk top review and analysis of data, policy and regional commitments on women’s economic empowerment and unpaid care work based on frameworks including WEAI and others provided by the consultant. The literature review will include, but is not limited to, a literature review of existing data on women’s participation in politics, unpaid care work and rural women in South Asia. This will also include review of continental targets, declarations and commitments on unpaid care work and women’s economic empowerment.
The consultant will be supported by the international project manager and where input is country specific national project managers will also provide inputs on behalf of their countries.
6.0 Time frame
The consultancy will be undertaken over a period not exceeding 16 working days inclusive of review and final approval of the document.
Contracting and inception meeting with AAI by 24th of March 2017
Submission of first draft - by 7th April 2017
AAI comments to consultant - by 13th April 2017
Submission of second draft - by 26th April March 2017
Final draft submission- by 3rd May April 2017
7.0 Budget
The consultant will be paid for a maximum of 16 days at a rate of 400 Euros per day.
8.0 Proposed structure of the policy brief
The policy brief shall not exceed 8 pages and will include, but is not limited to:
1 page summary of the brief and its recommendations
An introduction
Analytical sections highlight the extent to which unpaid care work and women’s economic empowerment are reflected
Specific recommendations SAARC, SAARC Chamber of Commerce, FAO, UN Women, UNESCAP, IFAD References / footnotes
How to apply:
Interested Consultants should apply indicating a proposed methodology (including frameworks for analysis), timeline and proposed budget. All applications should be submitted to Christina.Kwangwari@actionaid.org and copied to Samantha.fox@actionaid.org. The deadline for submission is 19th March 2017.